Over the past month Soviet-era sea mines have begun drifting into Turkish waters from the Ukraine coast – who is releasing them, and what threat do they pose to one of the world’s busiest seaways – the Bosphorus Strait?
The Type 332 Frankenthal-class minehunter is a class of German minehunters. The ships are built of non-magnetic steel. Hull, machinery and superstructure of this class is similar to the original Type 343 Hameln-class minesweeper, but the equipment differs.
Slightly modified Frankenthal-class minehunters are also operated by the Turkish Navy, where they are referred to as the A class. In the beginning of 2019, the Indonesian Navy ordered two minehunters based on a modified Frankenthal-class with a length of 62 metres.
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders | Lürssen Abeking & Rasmussen Krögerwerft |
| Operators |  German Navy United Arab Emirates Navy Turkish Navy Indonesian Navy |
| Preceded by | Hameln-class minesweeper |
| Subclasses | A class |
| In commission | 1992–present |
| Planned | 12 |
| Completed | 12 |
| Active | 10 |
| Retired | 2 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Minehunter |
| Displacement | 650 t |
| Length | 54.4 m (178 ft) |
| Beam | 9.2 m (30 ft) |
| Draft | 2.6 m (8 ft 6 in) |
| Propulsion | 2 × MTU 16V 538 TB91 diesel-engines, 2040 kW each 2 × electric motors for slow and silent maneuvering 2 × Renk PLS 25 E gearboxes 2 × controllable pitch propellers |
| Speed | 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) |
| Complement | 41 |
| Sensors and processing systems | 1 × hull mounted DSQS-11A mine hunting sonar DRBN 32 navigation radar |
| Electronic warfare & decoys | 2 × TKWA/MASS (Multi Ammunition Softkill System) decoy launchers (currently under procurement) 2 × Barricade chaff and flare launcher |
| Armament | 1 × Bofors 40 mm/L70 dual purpose gun (currently upgrading to 1 × MLG 27 27 mm autocannon) 2 FIM-92 Stinger MANPADS surface-to-air missile 2 × Pinguin B3 mine hunting ROVsMine laying capabilities |
| Notes | mine diver equipment, decompression chamber, crane |
Read more at Wikipedia
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